Senate Panel Approves Dan Gluck For State Appeals Court
By Chad Blair / March 22, 2026
Delays have longed plagued Hawaiʻi’s appellate court when it comes to hearing cases. The most recent estimate is that there were 764 pending cases as of June 30 and it can take longer than two years to hear them.
Last week, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee asked the person who is likely to be placed as a judge on the ICA later this month what he would do to expedite the backlog.
Dan Gluck, a deputy Corporation Counsel with the City and County of Honolulu, said a big step would be for the ICA to have “a full complement” of judges.
While the Legislature approved adding a sixth judge in 2022, the ICA has not always had all six judges on the bench because of vacancies and the time it takes to fill appointments, Gluck said.
“So just being fully staffed, I think, is going to help,” he told Sen. Stanley Chang.
Gluck also said the ICA could look to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has made an effort to write briefer opinions.
“The last few cases I’ve had with the 9th Circuit, the court has been able to issue decisions within three weeks or so of oral argument, but the decisions tend to be about three or four pages long — just very concise and to the point,” Gluck said.
“The ICA opinions tend to be longer, more in the range of 10 to 11 pages, and I think just being shorter means you’re spending less time drafting, and my colleagues will be spending less time reviewing that written work. And I think that you can still be fair and thorough while also being concise and trying to get the opinions out faster.”
Gluck said it was critical that the ICA facilitate what he described as “access to justice,” something he came to appreciate during his work representing marginalized groups such as homeless people. It was important, he said, to resolve cases “as quickly as possible,” as delays cause “serious problems” for the parties involved.
Gluck also said he was not opposed to exploring the use of artificial intelligence.
“I’ve tested out the tools,” he said. “I don’t think anything that is out there right now is anything close to ready for legal analysis or research or any of the core work that a judge can do. But I do think that there may be room for some of these tools in summarizing a voluminous record and coming up with a summary of facts, or doing something else to do some of the background work, to try to help to reduce just some of the time that’s spent reviewing the case before you can even get to the legal analysis.”
Senate Judiciary Chair Karl Rhoads told Gluck that the “ICA has been so far behind for so long that everybody was thrilled when they made it to, like, three and a half years or something.” He wanted to know what was a reasonable time for the ICA to move on appeals.
Gluck replied that he thought opinions, which come after any oral arguments or extensions that may be requested, could be issued in less than a year.
Gluck was nominated for the position by Gov. Josh Green. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the nomination 4-0 on Friday. It now awaits a full vote from the Senate.
The Hawaiʻi State Bar Association, which interviewed Gluck for the position, found him qualified.
There was no opposition and a lot of testimony in support, including from former Hawaiʻi Supreme Court Associate Justice James Duffy, senior U.S. District Court Judge J. Michael Seabright and U.S. District Court Judge Jill Otake.
Gluck earned his law degree from Harvard Law School. He previously served as the executive director and general counsel of the Hawaiʻi State Ethics Commission, as legal director of the ACLU Hawaiʻi and as an attorney in private practice.
In 2021, the Senate rejected Gluck’s appointment to the ICA, in part because some testifiers and senators were upset that Hawaiʻi courts did not have more women and people of color on the bench.
By that time, Gluck had already asked Gov. David Ige to withdraw his name from consideration.